Alexander Rossi uses Carb Day practice to clear the final hurdle so he can drive in Indianapolis 500
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Alexander Rossi gave his car — and his comfort in the car — a thumbs-up Friday, clearing the final hurdle to drive in Sunday's Indianapolis 500. The 2016 race winner crashed in practice Monday and needed surgery for an injured middle finger on his left hand and an injured right ankle. Ed Carpenter Racing officials were convinced all week that Rossi would make the start from the No.
2 spot, a career best. Now it's all set. “I'd like to talk about our team and the doctors at IU Health and what they accomplished in order to get us back into this process.
It's pretty exceptional,” Rossi said on pit lane. “It took a huge amount of things to go right and a great group of people I'm incredibly thankful for. ” Rossi was nowhere near the fastest car on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 2.
5-mile oval on Carb Day, the final practice session for IndyCar's biggest race. He was 31st of 33 drivers with a fast lap of 222. 291 mph in his backup car — the same one he used when he led the race last year.
But that wasn't the goal. Rossi just wanted to make sure the car worked and team members wanted to make sure he was comfortable working the pedals with his specially designed brace and protective boot after he cleared a litany of tests just to get cleared to drive. The last test went off without a hitch.